Reason Aussie students are ditching the US

Perth Now

2 days ago

Aussie students are ditching the US as a place to study in a dramatic backlash against Donald Trump's escalating visa crackdowns, according to new data.
Send My Bag, a UK company that ships luggage across the world, recorded a 34 per cent slump in quotes for shipping from Australia to the US in June and a sustained 20 per cent drop in relocation to the US since May.
Send My Bag CEO Adam Ewart said the turn away from America had been propelled by the US President's May crackdown on international students.
'Our data shows that when President Donald Trump began scaling up executive orders in April, interest in relocating to the US started to slow,' he said.
'But it wasn't until his May 27 crackdown on international students, pausing visas and resuming them with tougher screening, that Aussies were really spooked.
'From that point, relocation interest in the US fell off a cliff.
'We saw a 34 per cent drop in quotes for moving from Australia to the US in June alone.'
The figures come from Send My Bag's anonymised quote request data.
The platform processes thousands of relocation and travel inquiries each year.
When booking, customers select their reason for shipment - for example relocation, studying abroad or holiday - allowing the company to isolate international student moves from other categories.
Aussies are now choosing Europe over America, Mr Ewart said.
'The appetite to move abroad hasn't gone away - it's just shifted,' he said.
'We're seeing a surge in interest for Europe, particularly the UK, Ireland and even Norway, where demand has doubled.
'That tells us Aussies are still eager to spend extended periods overseas, just not in the US.'
Aussie holiday-makers are also shunning the US, with recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealing a stark fall off in visitor numbers to the vast and vibrant North American democracy. Travel for holidays to the US is also declining, the ABS has revealed. Instagram Credit: Supplied
Overseas arrivals and departures data shows the US fell from Australia's third to fourth most popular travel destination across 2024-25.
Travel to America is now 25 per cent lower from 10 years ago, the ABS said.
China, meanwhile, rose two spots to fifth place, even as the government recommends travellers exercise a 'high degree of caution' when visiting the Communist country.
More restrictive US trade and entry policies, introduced following Mr Trump's victory in November last year, could be dampening Australia's traditional American wanderlust.
In a trading update from July, travel booking company Flight Centre warned of an 'ongoing global downturn in bookings to the US' and said Australian holiday-makers were searching for destinations closer to home.
'This volatility temporarily disrupted traditional travel and booking patterns during Flight Centre's peak trading period as some customers either booked closer-to-home overseas holidays (in Australia, examples include China, Japan, Fiji and New Zealand) or delayed finalising travel plans,' the company said.
The $2.8bn company delivered a reduced profit forecast as a result of the disruption in traditional travel patterns.
While travel to the US declined, Indonesia held steady as Australia's most popular travel destination.
The northern neighbour, which boasts the tourism crown jewel of Bali, accounted for 14 per cent of Australian overseas trips across the year.
Some 87 per cent of the 1,741,370 trips recorded to Indonesia were for holidays.
New Zealand came in second place, Japan third, the US fourth and China at No.5.
Trips to Japan have tripled compared with 2015, while trips to India have doubled.